"Feasting on the Manna" Lesson 164

Lesson 164: “FEASTING ON THE MANNA”

One evening an old Cherokee told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside people. He said; “My son, the battle is between 2 wolves inside all of us. One is evil! It is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority and ego. The other is good! It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith” The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather; “which wolf wins”? The old Cherokee replied simply; “THE ONE YOU FEED”!

You know that we all have read about the disobedient, whiny, poor pitiful me Israelites in the Old Testament and sometimes we really do not understand why they did not trust God to take care of them and accept all the blessings He bestowed on them. Well, look around you and perhaps within you. The Israelites still exist today. We are given the same promises that they were because our God is the same yesterday, today and forever (Heb. 13:8) but do we always accept His blessings? Do we still want what is not good for us? Do we trust Him totally to provide our Daily Bread? Do you sharpen up your knife and cut into the Word or do you sit with folded hands and wait for someone to “feed you”? The Scripture tells us to “go” (Matt. 28:19), to “study” (2 Tim. 2:15) and “divide” the Word of Truth (2 Tim. 2:15). It’s hard to divide something unless you first have the “whole of it”. Paul was feeding the infants in Christ but seemed to be a bit frustrated that they had not grown out of the milk stage and started eating solid food (1 Cor. 3:1-2). If you are feeding the worldly wolf within you maybe you need to go back to the ‘fridge’ and choose another diet.

The spiritual famine is caused by evil (Ps. 37:9)! The entrance to the kingdom of self pity is right by the meadows of joy and peace that God provides for you. The second you allow self-pity to come into your life you are stuck in miry clay and it is really hard to get out. “This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. NOW CHOOSE LIFE” (Deut. 30:19-20). Think about whatever has driven you into your pity-party and RE-consider it pure joy because you are being tested by God (James 1:2-8). Scripture also tells us that our worldly desires cause greed (James 4:1-3, 1 Tim. 6:10), arrogance (Prov. 6:18, Isa. 5:21, 2:12-17), anger (Prov. 14:17), envy (Gal. 5:13, 26) and false pride (Prov. 29:23). There is a list of earthly desires in Colossians 3:5-9 which tells us will bring on the wrath of God.

In truth, famine is normal on the journey of faith. Sometimes where you think blessings should be there is famine. God used famine to further His plan in the Old Testament, New Testament and today. The biblical story of Abraham describes his divine selection as the ancestor of Israel and sets in motion the long process by which his descendants eventually become a populous nation in a land of their own. Yahweh commanded him to leave his ancestral home and move to a new land, where his descendants would be divinely blessed and grow into a great nation (Gen. 12:1-3). This promise could be fulfilled within Abraham’s own life-time but its realization is foreshadowed in the ensuing events, as Abraham and Sarah take up residence in the land promised to them and Isaac, the son from whom the nation will descend, is born. Abraham went to a land he knew nothing about, waited 10 years (until he was 100) to have the promised son and then was told to sacrifice this only son. Now that is famine! But notice how Abraham EXPECTED the blessings God had promised! He told his servants to stay at the bottom of the mountain, saying that he and his son would go and worship and then “WE WILL COME BACK TO YOU” (Gen 22:5). That is faith and trust in the midst of famine (Heb. 11:1). Believe in spite of the fact you cannot see the promised blessings and wait for the feast.

Now there was another famine in the land, but the Lord told Isaac to live where He told him for a while and He would bless him (Gen. 26:1-6). Joseph endured several chapters of famine before God blessings manifested in being “put in charge of the whole land of Egypt” (Gen. 41:41). This wilderness with blessings to follow carries over into the New Testament with Jesus in the wilderness (Matt. 4:1-10) and now sits on the right hand of His Father (Mark 16:19). Sometimes I think I cannot write a study without mentioning David but he was one that committed all sins but still was a man after God’s own heart. God was even good enough to let David choose between famine and being handed over to his enemies. David chose famine and the Lord sent a plague upon Israel until God told the angel; “Enough! Withdraw your hand” (2 Sam. 24:13-17) causing David to confess his sins and repent. That is all God wanted then and all He wants now! Repentance! Read the first chapter of Isaiah where He is “weary” of the sins of His people. He asked them to come and reason with Him and He would wash them white as snow. The people in Jeremiah were experiencing a famine and knew why. They said they had sinned and their backsliding was great (Jer. 14:1-7), still they were asking the Lord not to forsake them. However, instead of accepting God’s grace they turned to false prophets which God did not send (Jer. 14:13-16). Still He gives us this promise; “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword”? (Rom. 8:35-39). “The eyes of the Lord are on those who fear Him, on those whose hope is in His unfailing love, to deliver them from death and keep them alive in famine” (Ps. 33:18-19).

Now we will read a little about feasting! The most beautiful promise in the Bible comes from Isaiah 11:1; “A shoot will come from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit”. Continuing reading the ‘rest of the story’ from Isaiah and find what our Lord and Savior will do for us. Isaiah chapter 12 continues with telling us that God is our salvation and with joy we will draw water from the wells of salvation. Now that is a glorious feast! The Beatitudes will explain how we will be blessed and we are to rejoice (Matt. 5:1-12) in these blessings. We are to feast on the love of God because it is kind, not proud or rude, nor self-seeking or easily angered (1 Cor. 13:4-7). The fruits that we feast on come from the Spirit and include a steady diet of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness and self-control (Gal. 5:22-24). We are all given a measure of faith but must make every effort to add to this faith (2 Pet. 1:5-7), and rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ through whom we have now received reconciliation (Rom. 5:1-5). Flee from evil, pursue righteousness, godliness, faith and fight the good fight, taking hold of eternal life (1 Tim. 6:11-16). We are born again Christians, saved by the blood of the Lamb and we should live like it (Eph. 4:1-3). Since we are so blessed we should bless others with compassion, humility and patience, bearing each other’s burdens and forgiving as God forgave us (Col. 3:12-15).

Before we were saved we were disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. God saved us, NOT because of anything good we have done but because He loved us. Now because of this grace, we must be careful to devote ourselves to doing what is good (Titus 3:3-11). In order to feast on God’s blessings continually we must first put our minds on heavenly manna that is alone praiseworthy (Phil. 4:8). The feasts in the Bible are a shadow of things to come (Col. 2:16-17, Heb. 10:1). The manna that God provided in the Old Testament wilderness was an example to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did. God was not pleased with most of them even though they drank and ate the spiritual food. They just never ‘got the point of the food’ (1 Cor. 10:1-7). Have we ‘got the point’ yet? Am I suggesting that we have a festival today to celebrate the blessings of God? Yes! We should praise Him each and every time we feel His healing touch, each time a soul is saved, every time we come to a sudden realization that Jesus is indeed coming then we should rejoice. We should be a witness to our salvation and testify on any occasion given us to all that will listen. Tell the world that we are going to a place where there will be no more hunger, tears, pain or death for He will make everything new. Get excited, have a feast and celebrate that we will see His face (Revelation chapters 21-22)!
FEAST ON GOD’S MANNA! IT’S FREE!

FEED THE GOOD WOLF